With origins rooted in tribal communities, the Shaman has a long
tradition of being a spiritual guide to their people. In
style="font-style: italic;">Rift, they kick the
healing part to the curb and focus on laying down a beating. The most
melee heavy of the Cleric souls, the Shaman is as comfortable as the
primary soul as it is as a complementary one.

Pros

High damage output

Powerful buffs.

Able to take a beating

Extra damage shield for not many points

Cons

Next to no healing ability

Unable to heal allies

Easily kited by ranged classes

Overview

Like a bare knuckled boxer the Shaman
exudes toughness in a calling most equate with wearing a dress. The
Shaman is easily the most offense laden of the Cleric souls, and not so
much for the amount of damage they put out, but for the lack of healing
they possess.

Solo Play

A well played shaman will have little to no downtime despite their lack
of healing ability. Through use of brute force and a powerful damage
shield, most single pull mobs die before the shield expires. The Shaman
does possess a reactive heal that can be used after they are the
victim of a critical hit and while it doesn't do a lot of
healing, it can often be the extra nudge needed to come out
on top of a bad pull.

Group Play

Shaman do pack a punch and bring a smattering of group buffs to the
table, but like all hybrid oriented souls, they don't quite bring the
same amount of damage to the table that other callings do. With no
signature enhancement to a group it may take some convincing to get a
party invite as a deep spec Shaman, but as a complimentary soul they
can certainly up the damage output signifigantly.

Pairs Best With

Druid

The Druid is also a melee heavy soul and is a natural companion to the
Shaman. The most important factor is that benefits are
realized with a minimal amount of points spent in the tree.
Choosing the Druid gives the Shaman a summoned pet that will heal them
and
adds a second damage shield for only 4 points. While the two shields
don't stack, they also don't share a cooldown - making them a great
asset when managed well.

Justicar

The Shaman is a must have for any serious tanking build in the Cleric
calling. Bringing sustained and castable damage reduction as well as
upping the damage output of the Justicar makes this a match made in the
heavens. One of the main faults of the Justicar, other than low armor
class, is that they are huge mana hogs. At 17 points spent in the
Shaman tree; Endless Winter replenishes 4% of the casters mana with
every critical hit.

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